Things in here can get overly serious quite often, so I thought with it being induction weekend and all, it might be quite cool to make a thread giving Cafe-ers the chance to share their memories and show their appreciation for these two greats of the game.

Oriole Way wrote:Thanks to Cal Ripken, this will be the most heavily-attended HOF induction in history.

Props to Cal.

All because of Cal? Cal is the 2nd best player in this HOF class. Gwynn was quite a bit better then Ripken.

Well, that may or may not be true, but either way, Cal was the more popular player, and that's what people come to see, regardless of whether or not he was a slightly worse player, the mafority of the people are there to see Cal.

Oriole Way wrote:Thanks to Cal Ripken, this will be the most heavily-attended HOF induction in history.

Props to Cal.

All because of Cal? Cal is the 2nd best player in this HOF class. Gwynn was quite a bit better then Ripken.

Well, that may or may not be true, but either way, Cal was the more popular player, and that's what people come to see, regardless of whether or not he was a slightly worse player, the mafority of the people are there to see Cal.

Gwynn was quite a bit better ball player imo. As far as more popular or not, I imagine it depends on which side of the country you live on , but I live on the East Coast and I much preferred to see Gwynn play then to see Ripken play anyday.

Irregardless of who was more popular or a better player, because of how close Cooperstown is to Baltimore, Cal is the main reason there is a record number of people at the induction. This isn't to say that it wouldn't be the same situation if the HOF was close to San Diego and not Baltimore, but if it was Tony Gwynn and some other 3rd or 4th ballot HOFer, it would not be the same size crowd

I think Gwynn was definitely the better player but I agree that Ripken was the reason for the huge turnout. His iron man record was really embraced by most fans.Personally, his consecutive game record is one that I really feel is tainted. I love Cal Ripken the player, but how many games did Lou Gehrig miss due to being on strike? Few people question the legitimacy of the record because Cal was so well liked. I wonder if this point would be brought up by more fans if an unlikable player had broke the record.And the streak really is the reason for the huge turnout today. There wasn't a record setting turnout for Eddie Murray was there?

I watched the ceremony today; it's the first time I've seen it and it was great. I had my son sit down and watch it with me. The highlights they showed when introducing the HOFers that were there made my day.

hwiggen wrote:I think Gwynn was definitely the better player but I agree that Ripken was the reason for the huge turnout. His iron man record was really embraced by most fans.Personally, his consecutive game record is one that I really feel is tainted. I love Cal Ripken the player, but how many games did Lou Gehrig miss due to being on strike? Few people question the legitimacy of the record because Cal was so well liked. I wonder if this point would be brought up by more fans if an unlikable player had broke the record.And the streak really is the reason for the huge turnout today. There wasn't a record setting turnout for Eddie Murray was there?

I watched the ceremony today; it's the first time I've seen it and it was great. I had my son sit down and watch it with me. The highlights they showed when introducing the HOFers that were there made my day.

Gwynn versus Ripken: What are you guys smoking? First of all, you have to consider their offense in context for their position. Ripken is easily among the 10 best hitting SS of all time. Gwynn isn't even close to that among OFs or among RFs.

Second, beyond their positional considerations, you have to consider defense. Gwynn was a very good RF. But, that's a position of limited defensive value. Ripken was an excellent SS.

So, Ripken was a better offensive player at his position and better fielder at a more important defensive position. I don't see how you can rate Gwynn the better player; in fact, I know of no serious baseball writer who knows his stuff who has argued that.

The streak..Did you know Gehrig once batted lead off and left the game for pinch-runner so that he could keep his streak alive? Ripken never resorted to something like that. Why should he be penalized for things he had no control over? Gehrig never traveled cross-country to play games. Is his streak tainted?

No, the turnout is because A) Ripken was a HUGE hometown hero and B) Cooperstown is an easy drive to Baltimore. Murray was hated by many in Baltimore who felt he was moody and lazy.

"I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to chase it."